One Way flights Cheaper than Return

[ros_shaw]

I recently had to fly from Melbourne to Auckland with only a couple of days notice and since I was paying for myself I wanted the cheapest fare.

Initially I tried searching travel websites (zuji, lastminute) to get a fare but found they always charged more that the airline websites. Handy to find our the airline and flight time options though.

When I tried the airline websites I decided to get prices for one way fares in case different airlines had the cheapest legs each way. Turns out even on the same airline it was cheaper to book 2 one way flights than a return. ie. QF was A$339 MEL-AKL and NZ$316 (A$268) AKL-MEL. Total A$608. Much cheaper than the return fare on the same flights A$644. Air NZ was A$811 for 2 one way flights vs A$924 for the return - an even bigger difference. Emirates was no difference between one way and return A$602.:-|

Turns out the best options was a combination of Emirates and QF for $587.

It really pays to shop around. Maybe this is a legacy of the recent exchange rate move between the A$ and NZ$.

Ros
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QF SG, 52% LTS, Emirates Silver

 

[JohnK]

Because QF allows you to book one way flights to and from NZ we can normally save $30-$40 on return price as the flights from NZ are cheaper than flights from Australia due to various reasons, one being the exchange rate, competing with Air NZ and EK in getting NZ'ers to fly with QF to Australia, another being lower taxes & charges in NZ. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

I wish QF or any airline for that matter did the same for other international destinations, ie. one-way airfare is half the price or a little more than half price of the return airfare. Unfortunately a one-way SYD-SIN can be more expensive than the SYD-SIN return ticket.

 

[Mal]

It's a little known fact about the NZ fares being cheaper as 2x1 way tickets. When I told a workmate about it ages ago they didn't believe me till I showed them how it worked! The only (minor) issue is that the NZ-Aus leg will turn up on your Credit card as billed in $NZ so you will pay a small currency conversion fee based on your credit card rules.

Airlines seem to price fares based on the willingness for a country to fly an airline, the competition, purchasing power of country and other tax related issues.

It's not just a simple exchange rate issue but rather Qantas having more competition against Air NZ and other low cost carriers. Australians are suckers for Qantas unfortunately and we nearly always pay too much for fares ex-Australia vs other countries.

As a sidenote, I think some airlines are moving towards a one-way fare type setup. Not sure if Qantas is thinking about it, but I think it's unlikely.

 

[bfmi]

Airlines seem to price fares based on the willingness for a country to fly an airline, the competition, purchasing power of country and other tax related issues.

That's why I try to purchase any round world tix in Bangkok as it's priced for the local market. Thus you get a great deal

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Maybe this is a legacy of the recent exchange rate move between the A$ and NZ$.

Nah its been that way for a long time. There are other routes with far more pronounced difference in price each way.

 

[oz_mark]

That's why I try to purchase any round world tix in Bangkok as it's priced for the local market. Thus you get a great deal

and in some cases there are cheaper places than Bangkok

 

[JohnK]

and in some cases there are cheaper places than Bangkok

Yeah and all you have to do is book a round the world to get there just to book your discount round the world.

 

[serfty]

Yeah and all you have to do is book a round the world to get there just to book your discount round the world.

Actually, it can still be cost effective. You can save up to $3,000 on the direct cost of a DONE4.

A positioning return fare to to start/finish your RTW generally costs less than half of that so you are 1) still ahead, & 2) earning further SC's/TC's/QM's, FF miles etc.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Actually, it can still be cost effective. You can save up to $3,000 on the direct cost of a DONE4.

A positioning return fare to to start/finish your RTW generally costs less than half of that so you are 1) still ahead, & 2) earning further SC's/TC's/QM's, FF miles etc.

And not forgetting that some, like serfty continue with another starting from the same location. So may only need one way ticket to start it all off. However don't count on always getting cheap deals from the same place - eg ask those who used to do ex-CAI RTWs.

 

[NM]

And if you put your miles earning to AA you can earn enough miles to get you to/from the start point in comfort for your next adventure.